For the umpteenth time, South Africa couldn’t put up a good show in the knockout stage of an ICC event and remained away from the trophy. They lost to New Zealand by 50 runs in the second semi-final of the Champions Trophy on Wednesday but the coach feels the team is on the right track.
South Africa head coach Rob Walter feels the team is on the right track for the ODI World Cup 2027 at home despite the heartbreaking loss in the second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy against New Zealand on Wednesday (March 5). The Proteas lost to the Kiwis by 50 runs chasing 363 runs even after David Miller’s fighting 67-ball century.
However, Walter reckons the team is taking back a lot of learnings from the tournament. He also stated that current set up is still evolving as a team and made it clear that their eyes are now on the big prize at home in 2027. “You know, in the wins, we managed to put some significant partnerships together. We had guys contributing significantly with the bat. From a bowling point of view, I think our biggest development was our accuracy. We were able to be very accurate as a seam unit.
“And that’s something that we’ve been working really hard on. Every game we play is a learning opportunity. We just keep trying to take the little lessons. Today is a hard lesson, you feel it a little bit more, because it’s the end of a campaign. But we certainly continue to keep learning from things, little bits here and there, that we can do better. We’re still evolving as a team; there’s no doubt in my mind. Two and a half years to 2027 and that’s the eyes on the prize,” Walter said after the match. For the unversed, the 2027 ODI World Cup will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
The team has been consistently performing well in the ICC global events and constantly making it to the knockouts. But the Proteas are not able to lift the elusive trophy. Last year in the T20 World Cup final, they got extremely close against India but gave away a commanding position under pressure to eventually lose.
